Chairperson: Mr. Thomas Cendejas

Ext.: 213 381-5121 x413

Faculty List »

Department Requirements: Six semesters

Two semesters in the freshman year
One semester in the sophomore year
Three semesters in the junior and senior years

Department Overview

Philosophy Statement – Theology Department

Guided and motivated by the principles of our Catholic-Jesuit tradition, the Theology Department at Loyola High School is committed to providing a religious education with the following goals:

Formation

To provide our students, through a serious reflection on various biblical and theological sources, with a basic knowledge and understanding of the various elements of the Catholic-Jesuit tradition as a means for creating experiences where our students can have an authentic encounter with the living God.  In the process of striving for this goal, members of our diverse student body will also be more powerfully enabled to systematically examine and develop their own personal religious beliefs and practices.

Transformation

To demonstrate to our students, through a continued reflection on relevant biblical and theological sources, the personal responsibility they are called to assume for critically appropriating the religious understandings they have developed in a way that leads to morally committed social action, so as to become persons with a faith that seeks justice.  Such a desired outcome will mean our students will hopefully become religious leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion in our world.  The Theology Department commits to relying upon the relevant and appropriate assistance of the Community Service and Campus Ministry Departments in helping more effectively insure its goal of religious transformation.

Christ-Centered

Loyola High School, as a Catholic Jesuit institution, is ultimately dedicated to the unique revelation of God in Jesus Christ presented to us visibly in the Catholic Church.  The Theology Department, by facilitating authentic religious formation and transformation, will equip its students to better understand and respond to the loving redemptive example of Jesus Christ, a Spirit empowered development which will more powerfully unite our students with the Catholic Church’s universal mission of salvation which God truly desires for all. 

Requirements

Every Loyola High student is required to complete six semesters of theology to graduate.  The typical course sequence to accomplish this requirement is as follows: Freshmen year - one year or two semesters of Freshmen Scripture, Sophomore year - one semester of Theology II (Social Justice), Junior Year - one semester of Faith of Catholics, Junior year - one semester of Moral Theology, Senior year - one semester of a Senior Theology Elective (various class options are offered to meet this final requirement).    

Scripture

(2 semesters)

This course is a full year study of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures or the Old and the New Testaments. The first semester will focus on the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures and the second semester on the New Testament or Christian Scriptures. This course will provide a foundation and a springboard for all future theology classes at Loyola. Therefore, this introductory course will teach the basic elements of the Hebrew Scriptures; the Books of the Laws (Pentatuech), Prophets and Writings. We begin with God’s call to Abraham through “Covenant”, God’s liberation through the “Exodus” and the giving of the “Law” through Moses, and the God’s “Unity” of the his people under the kingship of David. Through the study of the Prophets and the Prophet Era, this course continues to demonstrate the relationship of the Hebrew people to God as a constant call to live their lives in authentic relationship with God. This course continues second semester with the New Testament or Christian Scriptures: The Gospels, Letters of Paul and the Writings. We begin with God’ continued revelation through Judaism and a new revelation of Himself in His Self-revelation to the world in the person Jesus Christ. We explore the life of Jesus and the revelation of God through Him. We will come to know these stories well, how they came to be written and meaning of those written experiences of God. We will ultimately see that God’s love transforms people’s lives allowing them to experience this love of God and how we are challenged as Christians to be that loving experience in the lives of other people.

Mr. Brown, Mr. Cendejas, Mr. Crofut, Mr. Frumento, Ms. Lee, Mr. Udoh S.J.

Theology II

(1 semester)

In this social justice course, students analyze and critically reflect on major global issues in light of past and present Catholic social teachings found in the important sources of Christian social ethics: Sacred Scriptures, Tradition, Reason (natural law), and human experience. Through readings, discussions, personal reflection, prayer and other activities, this class highlights the Church’s special ongoing concern for the poor and the marginalized. Students are invited to examine the Christian understanding that the love of God and love of others is inseparable and study the ramifications of this belief on how we live the Christian faith. Emphasis is placed on the importance of growing in our empathy, compassion and love for our sisters and brothers throughout the world and the importance of rooting true Christian living in faith, love and a commitment to justice. This course may be taken for credit in summer school.

Mr. Cendejas, Mr. Portman

Faith of Catholics

(1 semester)

This course systematically presents the teachings of the Catholic faith regarding its beliefs and practices using the four pillars of faith inspired by the great traditions of catechisms: the baptismal profession of faith (the Nicene Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (Catholic morality), and the prayer of the believer. To accomplish these tasks, the course will draw upon not only the appropriate references of the Sacred Scriptures, the living Tradition in the Church, and the guiding direction of the Magisterium, but also look to the relevant insights of believing persons within the spiritual heritage of the Catholic Church and the Jesuit tradition in particular. This approach will ultimately help insure that the course presentation contains old and the new, making for an understanding of faith which shows fidelity to the past while also managing to respond to the questions of our present age.

Mr. Brown, Mr. Frumento, Mr. Johnson

Moral Theology

(1 semester)

This required theology course asks the question, “What kind of person am I becoming, and what kind of person do I want to become?” In order to answer these questions we will examine secular moral philosophy, Catholic Church teaching, and our own moral compass. Throughout the course students will take contemporary moral issues as case studies for these three sources of morality. They will develop a sense of personal and social morality and attempt to illuminate how a person of faith should live in the 21st Century.

Mr. Brown, Mr. Crofut, Mr. Udoh, S.J.

World Religions

(1 semester)

The course is designed to enable students to have both an intellectual understanding and a personal reflection on the major religions of the world. Through the study of these religions the student will have a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the different religious traditions and cultures of our global community. Such understanding and appreciation are indispensable for promoting world peace in our conflict and tension-filled global village today. The course will help students to be more aware of: a) their own growth process as young men and, b) their encounters and experiences with the Sacred in their own lives and relationships; thereby cultivating a sense of sacredness, wholeness, and peace which makes life more joyful and fulfilling.

Ms. Lee

Science and Religion

(1 semester)

This theology elective course will serve as an introductory survey on the relationship between science and religion. To sort out the variety of ways in which people have historically related science and religion, we will utilize a four-fold typology method – conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration – commonly employed by recognized experts in the interdisciplinary field of science and religion. In addition, the examination of this relationship between science and religion will be presented within the context of the Judeo-Catholic/Christian tradition, which adheres to the notion that having to finally choose between science and religion is a false dilemma. Rather, the conclusions reached by science in studying nature and by religion in reflecting on the deposit of faith, when properly understood according to their respective appropriate limits, at the very least, must never conflict, and the very most, can coincide in ways which contribute to a meaningful account of God, man, and the cosmos.

Mr. Johnson

Narrative Theology

(1 semester)

This course is designed at taking a non-conventional approach into the exploration of theological and moral issues. Is there a connection between who we understand God or the godly to “BE” and the way we live our lives. Does philosophy and our rational mind alone define God? Can we know who God is or must we experience this God in our own lives? We will examine the human condition in and through “Story”. We will reflect on our own life – our own “Story”. In these stories, we will investigate how one’s belief in God or the struggles to know if God even exists, influences and determines a person’s behavior in the story and our own actions within our own stories. We will read and watch through literature and Film powerful “stories” that will engage us, motivate us, enlighten us and challenge us ... we may even experience, through these narratives, a quick glimpse into the Divine.

Mr. Frumento

Christology

(1 semester)

This Course asks the question “Who is Jesus?” This investigation begins with looking at who Jesus was, in his historical context. We will examine and research the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In an attempt to know who the ‘historical’ Jesus was, we will soon realize the limits of that ‘quest’ and shift our focus to who the early believers understood and experienced Jesus to have been. We will look at a variety of ‘Christologies’ attempting to understand this real ‘mystery’ of the incarnation of God, how Jesus Christ is just that for the Christian Catholic believer, and how this can lead us to a real and vital relationship with God. And to take it a step further, we will then look at how nurturing this relationship calls us to live “in” the ‘Kingdom of God’ which Jesus preached!

Mr. Frumento

Biblical Archaeology

This course will provide students with knowledge of the cultures, the languages, and the religions of the Ancient Near East during the Biblical Period.  By building upon the concepts already introduced in freshman social studies and scripture classes, students will engage in a chronological analysis to determine: a) Who lived in the Levant and when?  What material culture did they leave behind and what does this tell us about them?  b) What languages did they speak?  What writing system did they use and how did it come about?  c) What did they believe and when did they believe it?  How did the Bible come to be?  Are there other religious texts that remain?  Students will gain a thorough understanding of the events that shaped the Judeo-Christian faith and our modern state of affairs in the Middle East.

Mr. Schaeffer

Liturgy (Beginning 2012-13)

This course is designed to provide students with the skills necessary to become competent liturgical ministers in the 21st century.  Liturgy Workshop harmonizes the academic study Sacramental Theology and Church History with the study, preparation, and praxis of Liturgy.  Using the new Roman Missal, students will discover the richness of Catholic ritual through hands-on preparation, planning, and preparing music for school liturgies.  Members of this course will form the core singing/instrumental group for the school-wide liturgies. Through a solid historical and theological understanding of Hebrew and Christian Scripture in worship, as well as meditative praying of the scriptures, this course strives to synthesize academic theory with vibrant praxis, empowering the students with skills and experience.

Mr. Schaeffer

Catholic Peacebuilding (Beginning in 2012-13; fall semester only)

The theology of peace has its roots in the earliest of Hebrew Scriptures, and continues in the teachings of Jesus and the early Church. In this course, students will have the opportunity to explore this theology in three main areas: inner peace, inter-personal peace, and peace between nations and within communities. The promise of "peace that passes all understanding" will be examined in the writings of St. Ignatius as well as historical and contemporary theologians. We will develop skills that will allow students to understand what it means to be a compassionate "person for others" in today's world. Students with an interest in social justice will be able to continue their study with “Catholic Peacebuilding” while at the same time developing an interior life that can meet the profound challenges of life with grace.

Mr. Cendejas

Theology Teacher Aides

(1 or 2 semesters)

This course is designed to give seniors, interested and talented in Theology, an opportunity to aid freshmen, sophomore, and junior Theology teachers in their classes. Activities include leading group discussions, tutoring students, and assisting the teacher in correcting exams. Prerequisite: Students must have a 3.0 GPA overall, a 3.0 GPA in Theology, a willingness to accept the responsibility of helping to correct homework and exams, planning course materials, and working in the classroom every day. Permission of the instructor and department chairperson is required.

Mr. Cendejas

Directed Studies

(1 semester)

This course is designed for serious and competent students who are interested in pursuing learning on their own. Students who apply for this course must detail in writing the nature of their study, which includes the topic, the objectives, the procedure, the readings and the assignments, and the method of evaluation for the course work. A selection of students will be made by the Theology Department (in April for the fall semester; in November for the spring semester), and the students will sign a Directed Study Contract Agreement assuming full responsibility for the completion of their projects and their activity during the program. Because of the great demands made by this program, each teacher will be allowed only one Directed Study student per semester. Prerequisite: permission and approval of the department chairman and the instructor.